Tech Style Goes Tactile

November 28, 2005 in /

The laptop PC is finally ready for its close-up. Previously confined to a world of monotone grays and blacks, touchable laptop PCs are now poised to break into the fashion spotlight. Intel Corporation and Toray Ultrasuede, Inc. today unveiled "ultrafashionable" concept laptop PCs.

The unique result of their collaboration is a laptop design that screams chic, featuring Ultrasuede to deliver a unique and luxurious personal touch to mobile computing, along with the performance, mobility and wireless computing capabilities provided by Intel Centrino mobile technology.

They feature ultra micro-fiber Ultrasuede fabric integrated directly into the casing of Intel Centrino mobile technology-based laptop PCs, changing not only the look but also the feel of the system. Intel Centrino mobile technology trims weight off a traditional laptop PC and provides wireless communications features with great battery life, while the unique Ultrasuede design appeals to consumers’ sense of style, providing a sophisticated, personalized approach to tote-able, go-everywhere technology.

As laptop PCs have become smaller and more mobile, people are conscious of what they say about personal style. A recent Intel/Ultrasuede Laptop Style Study found that 73 percent of U.S. adult computer users want to buy technology products that reflect their personal style, and 76 percent of those computer users who admit to glancing at someone else’s laptop PC are checking out its style or design.

“For many people, a laptop may be just as much an everyday accessory as a hip belt or skyscraper stilettos, so we’re seeing an image-conscious culture demanding that their laptop looks as great as it performs,” said Steven Cojocaru, style expert. “The ‘ultrafashionable’ concept is a very forward illustration of what can happen when unlikely partners shake up the status quo. This laptop is so eye-catchingly stunning, I’m trying to find a way to wear it as a necklace to the Golden Globe Awards.”

The Feel of Innovation

Bringing together brains and beauty in an impressive mobile package, the “ultrafashionable” concept systems are designed to inspire the computer industry to deliver laptop PCs that feature innovation both inside and out, transforming them into true reflections of their owners’ personal style.

“Intel’s technology innovation, coupled with the plush luxury of Ultrasuede fabric, offers a marriage of form and function with unlimited potential for fashionable personal expression,” said Jodi Geniesse, consumer mobile education manager, Intel Corporation. “Intel has continually evolved what goes inside laptops, making them ever more powerful, mobile and connected, and now we are working to inspire the industry to transform the outsides of laptops to better reflect consumers’ mobile lifestyle.”

Forty percent of U.S. adult computer users find their laptop to be generic, boring, dull, sterile or lackluster, and 60 percent would like to be able to customize their laptop with options such as color, patterns and fabric1. Ultrasuede, with its durability and ease-of-care, wide range of colors and textures and unique luxurious feel is an ideal candidate to transform the look and feel of laptop PCs. It has been successfully incorporated into hundreds of products from furniture to apparel to accessories.

“With technology becoming more and more a part of our lives, this was a natural extension for Ultrasuede,” said Des McLaughlin, director for sales and marketing for Toray Ultrasuede. “Our fabric has always conveyed luxury, fashion and style, whether in high-end automobiles, living rooms or apparel. Like Intel, we are constantly looking to enable new and exciting products and uses for consumers. We believe the integration of Ultrasuede onto a laptop PC can help lead to a category shift that will add personal expression to the list of must-have laptop PC features.”

Cutting the Wires

Once just a productivity tool for business travelers to stay in touch with the office and customers, laptop PCs are no longer the sole domain of business users. Industry analyst firm IDC anticipates the notebook market for consumers to grow over the next five years with shipments in the United States expected to grow by 34 percent in 2006.

Since the introduction of Intel Centrino mobile technology almost three years ago, Intel has made it possible for the industry to introduce smaller, lighter, more powerful wirelessly-enabled products that can easily be toted anywhere. Connecting to wireless Internet access points (hotspots) with wirelessly-enabled devices is quickly becoming part of everyday life, as laptop PCs become the must have communications, entertainment and information companion for many consumers. According to the survey, 59 percent of laptop owners, in fact, report taking their laptop with them when they leave their home or office.